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Birchmore’s friend describes raising concerns about Farwell as trial examines missing phone messages
Lesley Davis testified that she urged Canton police to investigate Matthew Farwell the day after Sandra Birchmore died in 2021. Jurors also heard that state police initially found no messages on Farwell’s phone, while federal investigators later recovered thousands.
BOSTON — Sandra Birchmore’s close friend told jurors Thursday that she went to Canton police the day after Birchmore died, hoping investigators would examine Matthew Farwell’s role in her life and a recent dispute between them.
Lesley Davis, who said she had known Birchmore since they were teenagers, testified in the federal murder trial of Farwell, a former Stoughton police officer accused of killing Birchmore. Prosecutors allege Farwell sexually abused Birchmore when she was a minor and later killed her. The allegations have not been proven in court.
Davis said Birchmore told her early in their friendship that Farwell paid close attention to her and frequently texted to ask where she was. Birchmore also described a sexual relationship with Farwell, Davis testified. She said Birchmore was strongly attached to him and often talked about wanting to be a mother.
Davis said she spoke with Birchmore by phone on Feb. 1, 2021, the night Birchmore died, and that the conversation seemed normal. After learning of the death, Davis recalled a recent argument in which Birchmore said Farwell had pushed her to the ground when she asked him to sign the birth certificate for her child. Davis went to Canton police the following day, she testified, so investigators “didn’t miss any evidence.” DNA testing later determined Farwell was not the child’s father.
Some of Davis’ testimony about her immediate reaction to Birchmore’s death drew objections, and the judge struck portions of it from the record.
The day’s testimony also raised questions about the handling of evidence from Farwell’s phone. Massachusetts State Police digital-forensics investigator Nicholas Gaurino testified that he found no messages between Farwell and Birchmore on the device and returned it to Farwell. Federal investigators later recovered thousands of messages, according to testimony. Gaurino said he deleted data he considered redundant because investigators at the time believed Birchmore’s death was a suicide.
A Stoughton police officer who had worked with Farwell acknowledged in court that, before testimony, he told someone from the government he could not wait to “crush” the defendant, using an expletive. A former Stoughton deputy police chief who handled an internal investigation into Farwell and Birchmore’s relationship also testified. He was expected to return to the stand Friday.
Birchmore’s death and the investigation have brought scrutiny to how authorities handled allegations involving a former officer and evidence in the case. Farwell has pleaded not guilty.